Temporary Health is Health that exceeds the player’s maximum, often given as a Status Effect. It should not be confused with increasing the player’s maximum health, or with replenishing a second set of maximum health in a system with Multiple Health Bars. Temporary Health cannot be Healed in the same way as typical HP, although it may be possible to reapply it.
This health may decay over time, or it may only be lost when the health is depleted normally.
Risk of Rain 2 (2020) – Features Temporary Health called “Barrier”. It is represented by a yellow bar over the player’s normally green health, and decays over time.
Slay the Spire (2019) – Features “Block”, a form of Temporary Health that expires at the end of a turn. Example of Temporary Health in a Turn-Based system.
Hollow Knight: Silksong (2025) – features the “Plasmium Phial” tool, which grants the player 1 temporary health, represented by a blue mask. It does not decay, but it cannot be healed through the game’s normal healing method.
Maximum Health – Interacts
Multiple Health Bars – Similar in that it gives a player additional HP, but additional health is constrained to its own Maximum and can be Healed in its own (often different) way.